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  1. Family: Poaceae Barnhart
    1. Genus: Festuca Tourn. ex L.

      1. Festuca sororia Piper

        This species is accepted, and its native range is California to Missouri and New Mexico.

    [GB]
    Habit
    Perennial; caespitose. Rootstock evident. Culms 40-100 cm long. Lateral branches lacking. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 20-40 cm long; 3-7 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface smooth; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; elliptic; loose; nodding; 10-15 cm long. Primary panicle branches drooping; 1-2 -nate. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
    Spikelets
    Spikelets comprising 3-5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 7-12 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
    Fertile
    Spikelets comprising 3-5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 7-12 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
    Glume
    Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 3 mm long; 0.6 length of upper glume; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 5 mm long; 0.5-0.6 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.
    Florets
    Fertile lemma lanceolate; 6-9 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma lateral veins distinct. Lemma surface smooth, or scaberulous. Lemma apex acuminate; muticous, or awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 0-2 mm long overall. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels scabrous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
    Flowers
    Anthers 3.
    Fruits
    Caryopsis with adherent pericarp. Hilum linear.
    Distribution
    North America: northwest USA, southwest USA, and south-central USA.
    Reference
    Poeae. Gr SW US 1994.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Arizona, California, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Utah

    Festuca sororia Piper appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    May 1, 1981 Baker, C.F. [178], Colorado K000913257 paratype
    May 1, 1981 Baker, C.F. [177], Colorado K000913258 paratype

    First published in Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 16: 198 (1913)

    Accepted by

    • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2007). Flora of North America North of Mexico 24: 1-908. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
    • Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

    Literature

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2007). Flora of North America North of Mexico 24: 1-908. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

    Sources

    GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0